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As reported on the Houston Astros' website, Brett Myers has signed a one year contract worth around five million dollars. This signing not only brings another veteran presence with playoff experience to the ball-club, it also relieves the pressure on the younger starters, such as Yorman Bazardo and Felipe Paulino that were expected to step up into the rotation. 

From this point, and looking at past performances, I believe that the starting rotation will look something like this when the Astros begin the season:

Roy Oswalt

It looks like the Oakland Athletics will retain their main source of power from the past three seasons by bringing back Jack Cust for a one-year, incentive-laden deal. The deal is reportedly similar to the $2.8 million he made last season. 

Cust was targeted by several teams this offseason, but decided to stick with the A's instead. In 2009, the A's slugger had a .240/.356/.417 season, blasted a team-leading 25 homers, and walked 93 times.

The Lowell Spinners, Class-A affiliate of the Boston Red Sox, have announced that the team and the city of Lowell have been awarded the 2011 New York-Penn League All-Star Game and are kicking off preparation with a contest to create a logo for the event.

Spinner Vice President and General Manager Tim Bawmann shared the news and was excited to announce plans for the upcoming logo contest. 

The writers did a poor job this year in the elections for the Baseball Hall of Fame.  Andre Dawson drew enough votes to gain election, while other, far more deserving candidates, were left to linger.  Dawson pulled in 77.9 percent of the votes, testimony to the idea that a veteran baseball writer will not let a complicated thing like the facts stand in the way of a good story.

Another cold winter day came and went, and only one man was floating on cloud nine after 2:00 pm EST.

That man was Andre "Hawk" Dawson.

Dawson made it on the ninth ballot. Collecting 77.9 percent of the votes, his ticket is stamped for the July induction. 75 percent is the requirement to be elected.

How can the baseball writers justify eight years of baseball purgatory for one of only three men to hit 400 HR and steal 300 bases? The man could do it all.

The Expos live on. The Hawk is in.

The powerful centerfielder who played half of his career in Montreal found his way into Cooperstown after nearly a 10-year wait today.

Dawson received enough voted to vault past the 75% plateau needed to make the cut.

It was a proper selection.

Dawson was not only one of the best players of his generation, but he provided a mix of spectacular skills, including power, speed and defensive instinct.

Here's a rundown of Dawson's accolades:

For the 13th straight year, Bert Blyleven failed to gain induction into the Hall of Fame, this time by the slimmest of margins as he received 74.2 percent of the vote (75 percent is necessary for induction). 

Often considered the best pitcher without a plaque in Cooperstown, the right-hander will remain just that for at least another 12 months, and it's not right.

What must a player do to enter the Hall of Fame? Let’s look at a player’s resume without the name attached.

He must have won awards; they tell us he was among the best in his era.

Rookie of the Year in 1977. National League Most Valuable Player in 1987—on a last place team. Eight-time All Star, eight-time Gold Glove winner, four-time Silver Slugger.

Washington, DC -- His home white No. 55 hanging in a locker stall behind him, Matt Capps was officially introduced to the media in the intimately lit clubhouse in Nationals Park he will call home in 2010.

On hand were a small gathering of beat reporters and selected Internet writers, far from the elaborately staged press conferences of the other significant free agent signings.  There were no television reporters, no cameras of any kind, and no columnists to be seen.